Russia pulls troops from China border for Ukraine, plans to mobilize 500,000: Reports

Russia has pulled troops from all over the country, including ones stationed at its border with China, to fight in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense said on Thursday, while Kyiv said the Kremlin planned to mobilize an additional 500,000 soldiers for the war effort.

“Military formations drawn from across Russia are currently bearing the brunt of Ukraine’s counter offensive,” the British ministry of defense said in its war intelligence update.

It added: “In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the 58th Combined Arms Army is defending heavily entrenched lines; normally it secures Russia’s volatile Caucasus region. Around Velyka Novosilka, the 5th Combined Arms Army and Naval Infantry hold the front; they are routinely based 7000km away as a balance to Chinese power.”

The UK assessment stated: “Around Bakhmut, the defense is now largely formed around airborne regiments normally stationed in western Russia, who normally act as an elite rapid reaction force in case of tensions with NATO.”

The British ministry stressed: “The way Russia is accepting risks across Eurasia highlights how the war has dislocated Russia’s established national strategy.”

Separately, senior Ukrainian military official Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov said the Kremlin planned up to 500,000 thousand of new recruits to the army to replenish their losses in Ukraine.

“Officially, mobilization in the Russian Federation has been suspended. However, measures are being taken to recruit servicemen under a contract to equip and replenish the losses of units in the combat zone. According to the Kremlin's plans, up to 500,000 people are expected to join the ranks of the armed forces,” state news agency Ukrinform cited him as saying.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no need for an additional mobilization campaign in Russia at the time, according to state news agency TASS. He said: “We will decide based on how many personnel there is, how the situation unfolds along the engagement line, what progress the special military operation makes.”

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